Jussie Smollett’s drawn out legal saga begins anew Tuesday when an Illinois appeals court will hear oral arguments that the former “Empire” actor’s convictions for staging a racist, homophobic attack against himself in 2019 and then lying about it to Chicago police should be tossed.
If the appeal before the Chicago-based First District Appellate Court fails, Smollett would have to finish a 150-day stint in jail that his trial judge ordered during his 2022 sentencing. Smollett spent just six days in jail before his release pending the outcome of the appeal. A ruling is expected to take several weeks.
